I just recently finished a new work for Percussion Ensemble entitled “Shock and Awe.”  The piece will be receiving its world premiere on February 26, 2011 by the JMU Percussion Ensemble at the Forbes Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of James Madison University.  For more information on the concert, visit this page.  It is sure to be a great concert and my piece will be opening it!

Holy moly Brian Blade can groove….

Just got back from the Atlanta Snare Drum Competition.  I didn’t make it to the final round but it was a great experience.  Got to meet alot of really great players and get some insight from some great teachers who were on the judging panel.  I would recommend that everyone at least look into the competition and see if you can possibly make it down.  It’s still getting off the ground but there are alot of great players that show up to compete.  Also got to play in a masterclass with Bob Becker which made the entire trip worthwhile just being able to talk with him about things.

I’m on Twitter now. @jamieson_carr is me. Start following if you’re interested. Maybe I’ll use it….we’ll see….

I recently went to concert featuring the music of John Mackey.  I had played three of Mackey’s pieces before and his music has always been very exciting.  The JMU Wind Symphony played his Concerto for Soprano Saxophone with Prof. Dave Pope playing the solo part.  It was probably one of the most awesome displays of technical virtuosity I had seen on an instrument that wasn’t percussion.  If you have never heard of John Mackey you can check out his website here.  Go take a listen to some of his stuff and you will have a new appreciation for the music being written for the modern Wind Ensemble.

Pedro Carneiro is organizing a consortium to commission a new work for marimba duo from Alejandro Vinao.  I recently joined it and if you are seriously interested in being part of this new and exciting project, visit Pedro’s website or Vinao’s website for more info.  Only 3 more people are needed for the project to be a definite go!!

Interesting article on how the iPad could be utilized to store sheet music and revolutionize the publishing of sheet music.

Article